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Jul 7, 2011
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is the afghanistan central government introducing the rule of law? have we not already defeated al qaeda? and so who are we fighting and why? for $10 billion a month, mr. speaker, our expectations as taxpayers, as americans, as members of congress should be high. is it too much to think that $10 billion a month to buy a stable ally, ally capable of standing on its own two feet, taking responsibility for its own security and having respect for the rule of law? instead, corruption and chaos are ruling the day in kabul. basic government institutions are failing to provide services. president karzai has tried to establish a special court, in fact, for the purpose of stripping 62 members of parliament of their seats and the financial system is teetering on the brink of collapse. with the head of the central bank fleeing the country and accusing karzai's regime of fraud and cronism. just a few days ago, mr. speaker, a brawl broke out on the floor of the afghanistan parliament with one member throwing a shoe at another member when a motion was proposed to i
is the afghanistan central government introducing the rule of law? have we not already defeated al qaeda? and so who are we fighting and why? for $10 billion a month, mr. speaker, our expectations as taxpayers, as americans, as members of congress should be high. is it too much to think that $10 billion a month to buy a stable ally, ally capable of standing on its own two feet, taking responsibility for its own security and having respect for the rule of law? instead, corruption and chaos are...
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Jul 20, 2011
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voted to carry out two wars, afghanistan and iraq. borrowed money to do it. these are past expenditures. here we are, days away from the default crisis, where our republican friends are using this moment in time, where we're not really discussing tomorrow's expenditures, we're talking about yesterday's expenditures and they're saying, give us our way our else america defaults. mr. welch: representative garamendi, i think the message from the democrats in the house of representatives is straightforward and logical. mr. tonko: we said save medicare, make it stronger. then we talk about cutting, cutting programs that don't create jobs. do those cuts where there's no jobs created. where there are, save those programs, strengthen them, provide for jobs by investing in education, in innovation, and in infrastructure. and it's very easy when you take the education investment, the infrastructure investment and certainly the education investment that equals jobs for americans. middle class americans. and that's what it's all about. if we create jobs, it drives down th
voted to carry out two wars, afghanistan and iraq. borrowed money to do it. these are past expenditures. here we are, days away from the default crisis, where our republican friends are using this moment in time, where we're not really discussing tomorrow's expenditures, we're talking about yesterday's expenditures and they're saying, give us our way our else america defaults. mr. welch: representative garamendi, i think the message from the democrats in the house of representatives is...
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Jul 5, 2011
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vice president biden, secretary panetta and the president discussed implementation of our strategy in afghanistan, including consolidation and training afghan security forces, the reduction of u.s. troop levels that the president announced last month and process of transitioning lead security to the afghan government. the president thanked everyone for their service and said that he looked forward to working with them closely as they take up their important positions. >> any discussions about continuing concerns about weakening of the effort? >> not in this meeting. i believe we addressed that issue. the president feels very strongly that because of the success we have had in making progress towards achieving our goals, defeating, disrupting -- dismantle and defeat, reducing the -- stopping the momentum of the taliban and training of afghan security forces, we can begin to draw down our surge forces. 10,000 this year and 30,000 next year. >> has treasury secretary geithner told the president that he would like to leave -- >> not that i'm aware of no. >> i think he will be here for the foreseeable
vice president biden, secretary panetta and the president discussed implementation of our strategy in afghanistan, including consolidation and training afghan security forces, the reduction of u.s. troop levels that the president announced last month and process of transitioning lead security to the afghan government. the president thanked everyone for their service and said that he looked forward to working with them closely as they take up their important positions. >> any discussions...
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Jul 15, 2011
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there has to be hope for the young men and women on the frontlines of iraq and afghanistan and places around the world. there has to be hope. the reason why i know there is hope is because my own industry, the energy industry, just created a program for veterans who jobs through the energy industry. i'm asking them to create one for 18 to 35-year-olds. businesses are still alive and well. the financial services, the banking entity must be involved in providing access to credit for our smaller businesses who are creating jobs. we are alive and well. and so i believe what we should do is to go forward with a package that is reasonable. that lifts the debt ceiling as we did for everyone else. i would vote for a clean debt ceiling. lift it up. then begin to with great common sense plan our budget and our cuts. mark zahny -- zandi has said that. an economist who worked for a number of republicans, such as john mccain, former presidential candidate. why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? all economists will say, you don't make immediate cuts in this fiscal year, you project them out. just
there has to be hope for the young men and women on the frontlines of iraq and afghanistan and places around the world. there has to be hope. the reason why i know there is hope is because my own industry, the energy industry, just created a program for veterans who jobs through the energy industry. i'm asking them to create one for 18 to 35-year-olds. businesses are still alive and well. the financial services, the banking entity must be involved in providing access to credit for our smaller...
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Jul 12, 2011
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not afghanistan. not al qaeda. but our debt. since january, 2009, $3.7 trillion has been added to the national debt. current our debt stands at $14.3 trillion. and i'm told if you add in the cost, the present day cost of all the promises that irresponsible people who stood here before me have made to the american people, that the cost would be over $70 trillion. many americans, including this one, can't even conceptualize that. can't count that high. and that's not their fault. that's this body's fault. there's a lot of fear mongering going on by people who want us to spend more. they have seen these tactics work in the past. bank bailouts. massive spending bills. even if the calamity forecast was to come to pass, it doesn't change the fact that the debt crisis we face is our fiscal sin. generations before ours and ours are responsible for it. not my kids. not your kids. and not our grandchildren. and if addressing it hurts in the short term, then i say, so be it. i reject the idea that we would pass this mess on to our kids for
not afghanistan. not al qaeda. but our debt. since january, 2009, $3.7 trillion has been added to the national debt. current our debt stands at $14.3 trillion. and i'm told if you add in the cost, the present day cost of all the promises that irresponsible people who stood here before me have made to the american people, that the cost would be over $70 trillion. many americans, including this one, can't even conceptualize that. can't count that high. and that's not their fault. that's this...
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Jul 7, 2011
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number one, there's very little local government infrastructure in afghanistan. the fact that we build a road or a school doesn't mean there's a government or authority to maintain it. so we build something, the moment we turn the keys over it falls into disuse and disrepair. second, the expense of doing this is enormous. you know, it may make sense to to these civic projects that do create some good will, but to do them, mr. speaker, in a middle of a shooting war or is it better to do it before or after the war when you have a chance to -- for this implementation to occur? third, there's an immense amount of ripping off of money from the american taxpayer. it goes -- it gets lost, it gets picked up. it's too rampant in afghanistan. so according to a report in "the washington post," and, mr. speaker, i will be asking you to submit "the washington post" in the record, half of this money, minimum of $400 million, has gone missing. it's wasted and it's coming out of our taxpayer pockets. our amendment, my amendment would cut in half the $400 million, reduce it to $0
number one, there's very little local government infrastructure in afghanistan. the fact that we build a road or a school doesn't mean there's a government or authority to maintain it. so we build something, the moment we turn the keys over it falls into disuse and disrepair. second, the expense of doing this is enormous. you know, it may make sense to to these civic projects that do create some good will, but to do them, mr. speaker, in a middle of a shooting war or is it better to do it...
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Jul 26, 2011
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in fact, the wars of iraq and afghanistan were longer than world war ii. and all of those moneys were spent under the last administration, tax cuts that went about for individuals who by and large have said no thank you because they want to invest in america. so i'm prepared to join with my many friends to work on moving this country forward, but let's move on. let's move on beyond the impossible proposal given by speaker boehner of that -- that focuses on a hybrid, vote now for the debt ceiling then come back and fight it out again in six months. that is not the consistency and the evenness that is necessary for all of those who are seeking employment or all of those businesses or all of those in the arena of money making. they need an even pathway. and so while we get on with the ordinary business, get on with the ordinary business so that we can begin to talk about the growth of this country, education for the young people, making sure the doors of businesses stay open, talk about how do we fix a tax system where we all can benefit. but as long as we ar
in fact, the wars of iraq and afghanistan were longer than world war ii. and all of those moneys were spent under the last administration, tax cuts that went about for individuals who by and large have said no thank you because they want to invest in america. so i'm prepared to join with my many friends to work on moving this country forward, but let's move on. let's move on beyond the impossible proposal given by speaker boehner of that -- that focuses on a hybrid, vote now for the debt...
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Jul 20, 2011
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so the iraq war and the afghanistan war. the other thing is this downturn in the economy. the downturn in the economy occurred in 2008. how did it happen, why did we have that crash of the american economy? we had it because the federal government stepped back from regulating the financial institutions, allowing them to run wild, assuming that they would be smart enough to regulate themselves. that didn't happen. they were smart enough to be extraordinarily greedy. wall street went on a greed binge and the result was the collapse of the financial industry. needless to say there were other players in this game and many americans, hundreds of thousands of americans joined in the game and took out mortgages, bought house that there was no way they could possibly afford. the financial industry, the mortgage industry and wall street bankers and we wound up with the great collapse of 2008. to deal with that the bailout of wall street occurred, most of that has now been paid back. it worked. did it work for the benefit of americans? well, it stabilized the financial institutions
so the iraq war and the afghanistan war. the other thing is this downturn in the economy. the downturn in the economy occurred in 2008. how did it happen, why did we have that crash of the american economy? we had it because the federal government stepped back from regulating the financial institutions, allowing them to run wild, assuming that they would be smart enough to regulate themselves. that didn't happen. they were smart enough to be extraordinarily greedy. wall street went on a greed...
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Jul 19, 2011
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these projections assume the number of troops in afghanistan would be significantly reduced by the end of 2014 in accordance with the present strategy. i share this because i believe we are still in a black hole even with the president withdrawing 10,000 troops this year. let's not wait until 2014 or 2015. let's not bring any more pain to our military families. our job is done. let's bring them home. mr. speaker, before closing one more time the faces of these little girls is the face of pain of a daddy they will never grow up to know. it is time to bring them home, mr. speaker. it is time to bring them home. on behalf of all the children across this country who lost loved ones, may god bless you and your families. may god bless our men and women in uniform. and may god continue to bless america. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina yields back his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, for five minutes. mr. rangel: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro
these projections assume the number of troops in afghanistan would be significantly reduced by the end of 2014 in accordance with the present strategy. i share this because i believe we are still in a black hole even with the president withdrawing 10,000 troops this year. let's not wait until 2014 or 2015. let's not bring any more pain to our military families. our job is done. let's bring them home. mr. speaker, before closing one more time the faces of these little girls is the face of pain...
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Jul 20, 2011
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afghanistan alone is costing $10 billion a month with the total price tag for iraq and afghanistan going back 10 years $3.2 trillion. and that's a conservative estimate, mr. speaker. these are staggering figures, especially during a recession when americans are crying out for washington to do something about creating jobs and breathing life back into our economy. and what are the taxpayers getting for their trillions of dollars in war spending? more than 6,100 dead americans, continued violence in iraq and a prime minister whose cozying up to iran and an ongoing civil war in libya. a corrupt regime in kabul, insurgents that continue to kill at will. in afghanistan, a nation still under crushing poverty and an afghan government that cannot protect its own people. by any measure these wars have been a devastating failure and yet with barely any scrutiny, barely any debate and certainly no outrage from republican leaders, we continue to write that check. meanwhile, we have domestic programs that work, proven investments in the survival and prosperity of our people. medicare, social security
afghanistan alone is costing $10 billion a month with the total price tag for iraq and afghanistan going back 10 years $3.2 trillion. and that's a conservative estimate, mr. speaker. these are staggering figures, especially during a recession when americans are crying out for washington to do something about creating jobs and breathing life back into our economy. and what are the taxpayers getting for their trillions of dollars in war spending? more than 6,100 dead americans, continued violence...
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Jul 19, 2011
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it cut social programs, would get us out of iraq and afghanistan, it would take a serious look out of social security and medicare and in many cases contributing to this deficit. and it would say that those who benefit from ethanol subsidies and oil company tax breaks, the wealthiest people in this country would have to pay a little bit more to pay their fair share. something like that is what should be on the floor here this afternoon because it can pass, the president can sign it and it can solve the fiscal problems of this country or take us in the right direction. but we don't have something like that. instead we have a plan that says the following and puts it in the constitution, the guy who runs an ethanol company who gets massive public subsidies can make profits is completely left alone. he doesn't have to do anything. but for the woman who cleans his office at night is going to have to pay more to go to college, more for health care for herself, her children and her parents and more for just about anything she wants in her life. there's something wrong with that picture. sacr
it cut social programs, would get us out of iraq and afghanistan, it would take a serious look out of social security and medicare and in many cases contributing to this deficit. and it would say that those who benefit from ethanol subsidies and oil company tax breaks, the wealthiest people in this country would have to pay a little bit more to pay their fair share. something like that is what should be on the floor here this afternoon because it can pass, the president can sign it and it can...
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Jul 28, 2011
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wonder if the virps -- veterans, 2.2 million who served us with with honor and distinction in iraq and afghanistan would feel that way to draw back on the benefits that they earned. during the bush years our country spent $1.5 trillion in iraq and national defense. the turnaround in our budget picture during the bush years was remarkable. in october of 2008, cnn reported that the debt clock had run out of numbers. the debt clock actually had exceeded 13 digits that had been allotted to the clock and had to be revised. according to one report at the end of the bush term, the number of jobs in the nation increased by 2%. that's the lowest at anytime since data began to be collected seven decades ago. gross domestic product was at the lowest pace since the truman administration, and the price that america has paid for the theology that suggested during all of those years that tax cuts pay for themselves. you can't find a mainstream economist in this town today who will acknowledge that argument. and yet we hear now more tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. by the time that the bush years ended, the
wonder if the virps -- veterans, 2.2 million who served us with with honor and distinction in iraq and afghanistan would feel that way to draw back on the benefits that they earned. during the bush years our country spent $1.5 trillion in iraq and national defense. the turnaround in our budget picture during the bush years was remarkable. in october of 2008, cnn reported that the debt clock had run out of numbers. the debt clock actually had exceeded 13 digits that had been allotted to the...
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Jul 19, 2011
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these needs last long after the last american combat ants depart iraq and afghanistan. this motion to recommit would simply protect our veterans from any potential unintended consequence resulting from this ill-conceived bill, the so-called cut, cap and balance act. the needs of america's veterans should be one of our highest priorities and this motion will ensure that our veterans are taken care of and that they receive the benefits they have earned. let's be clear, the passage of this motion to recommit will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. this amendment is adopted, it will be incorporated into the bill and the bill will be immediately voted upon. so though we may disagree on the bill, today we have the opportunity with this motion to recommit and my amendment to speak with one voice in support of our veterans. it is up to all of us, i urge you to vote yes on this motion to recommit. but let's make sure that if this bill as its -- passes, the cut, cap and balance and any balanced budget will not result in a reduction of veterans benefits. vote yes on t
these needs last long after the last american combat ants depart iraq and afghanistan. this motion to recommit would simply protect our veterans from any potential unintended consequence resulting from this ill-conceived bill, the so-called cut, cap and balance act. the needs of america's veterans should be one of our highest priorities and this motion will ensure that our veterans are taken care of and that they receive the benefits they have earned. let's be clear, the passage of this motion...